Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Database Spotlight: Zinio

Do you love magazines? Do you look forward to hearing what our Magazine of the Month will be? Do you have a new tablet or laptop, and you're curious what it would be like to read a magazine digitally? Well, Carnegie-Stout has just the resource for you!

To find Zinio, go to the library's homepage: www.dubuque.lib.ia.us
and click on the "Research Tools" link on the left-hand side of the
screen. This brings you to an alphabetical list of our research
databases from which you will be able to open Zinio.

Click on the image to see a larger version.

The trickiest part with getting started using Zinio is that you will have to register twice: once with a library account that will allow you to borrow from the library's collection, and once with Zinio, so that you can read your magazines. First click the purple Create Account button. You'll be asked to enter your library barcode. Only patrons who live in Dubuque or Dyersville are eligible to use Zinio, but everyone is welcome to come into Carnegie-Stout and browse our physical collection!

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Once you have verified your library card and set up a log-in with an email address and password, you'll be taken to the Carnegie-Stout PL and James Kennedy PL Zinio collection. When you locate a title that you want to read, click on the cover image and you'll be directed to Zinio's main site, where you will be asked to register your account in order to read the magazine.

Click on the image to see a larger version.

After you're fully registered, and have added all the titles you would like to read from the Carnegie-Stout PL and James Kennedy PL Zinio page to Your Reading List in Zinio, you'll be all set to enjoy your magazines! Zinio will send you email notifications when new issues of your titles become available, and you'll be able to add or delete titles in the future. Please be aware that the main Zinio site also sells subscriptions to digital issues not available for free through the library, and that some of these titles are adult in nature.

Click on the image to see a larger version.

Those of you with mobile devices should take a look at the Zinio app. It's free to add this app to your device, and will allow you to read the magazines you're borrowing from our collection on the go!

Click on the images to view larger versions.

If you have any questions about Zinio, run into any problems, or would just like a staff member to walk you through the set up process, give us a call (563-589-4225), send us an email (yourlibrarian@dubuque.lib.ia.us), or stop by in person! Don't forget, we offer drop-in tech help from 6:30 to 8:30 every Wednesday evening.